Wildpaw's Tale
by Phizzderp
Summary: There's a new clan in the forest. Join Wildpaw, Coughstar, and Coldbreath as they tell you their story from the very beginning. Welcome to MeadowClan. Post Series 2


Hey guys! First story up, wow, ok. I'm not really up to date with all the settings on here.. but I'll try ;u; Enjoy! And every time that it switches perspective I have it labeled. Enjoy!  
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**Wildpaw **

I slowly approached the tall, slender tom. He wasn't looking at me, but I could sense that he knew I was there. I bowed my head, not trusting my voice, and waited. When nothing happened, I glanced up. _Good, _I thought. _He's talking to Skyclaw. Now maybe I can sneak off… no. I can't sneak off. I should just wait here. Maybe Skyclaw will see me and tell… __**him **__that I'm here. _Him was what I called my mentor, Coughstar, formerly Coughfang after a terrible cough that permanently plagued him with residue on his muzzle and a raspy voice.I glanced back down, ashamed that I didn't have the courage to confront Him myself. _What's so scary about him anyway, Wildpaw? _I asked myself sarcastically. _I mean, first he'll scold you, then he'll attack you in a 'training lesson', and then he'll assign you a punishment. What's so scary about that? _I snorted at my own sick joke. Unfortunately, that little snort of mine made Him notice my presence. _Fox dung. _I cowered away, and for once in my life, I considered running.

**Coughstar **

I turned my eyes on the pitiful creature I was forced to call my apprentice. He was small, young, and mouse-brained. He was an ugly shade of tan, with black paws, ear tips, tail tip, chest, and neck. He had white horizontal lines from his head to his tail. His eyes, filled with fear and regret, were a nasty shade of green, which clashed horribly with his matted fur. His tail drooped as I stared coldly down at him. _Uhh! Why doesn't this vile creature just scurry off from that hole that he came from?! _I growled, and my apprentice let out a pathetic whimper. _Dear StarClan, this thing is horrible! _ I thought. But how could I think otherwise; after all, I was insane.

"Go away. I don't care if you failed, I don't care if you fail again. I've had enough of you. I can't bear to look at you, to call you my apprentice; you're not worthy of that title. You're not even worthy enough to be called a kit! Get lost you mouse-brained fox dung!" I rasped and stalked back to my den.

**Coldbreath **

I stood shell-shocked at what I'd just witnessed. Being the clan deputy, I had to stand up and care for every cat, but also follow the orders of the clan leader. How was I supposed to help this young apprentice if Coughstar had just insulted him beyond belief? He obviously wanted him shunned, but what had he done wrong? How was he supposed to learn from his mistake of he didn't have anyone to teach him? _Why don't I teach him, _I suddenly thought. _I don't have an apprentice, and Wildpaw doesn't have a mentor, so it's perfect! _I purred at the idea, and began to trot over to the young apprentice. Suddenly a white blur streaked past, and a second later collided with me. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me, and turned to see who my attacker was. Firekit. Ug. Probably thought I was hitting on her crush, who was way out of her league. Firekit was 5 ½ moons old, very close to becoming an apprentice. Wildpaw, on the other hand, was 20 moons old, definitely old enough to become a warrior. He already had trouble fitting into the apprentice's den, and for sure had enough training to be a perfectly fine warrior, if Coughstar would let him, anyway.

"I know exactly what you're doing, mate-stealer!" Firekit spat. "You're trying to steal my precious Wildpaw away from me, and I won't let you do that!"

_What is this kit thinking! I'm the deputy, a warrior, and have been a mentor before! She's a __**kit.**__ I can't believe her nerve! _"Um, Firekit? I'm a warrior, the clan deputy, and way older than you. Show some respect!" I growled.

"You have to give respect to earn it," the kit said snootily, and trotted away.

"Say that to a puddle, then maybe you'll understand!" I called after her in a cold tone. _Dear StarClan, what is her mother teaching her?! _I thought, agitated. I turned back to were Wildpaw was, only to find that he had left. "If I had a mouse for every time," I hissed under my breath, and went back to the warrior's den to organize the evening patrols.

**Wildpaw **

I trotted through the forest, Coughstar's harsh words still ringing in my ears. _"You're not even worthy enough to be a kit!" "Get lost you mouse-brained fox dung!" _I growled and bit harder into the fresh kill that I was bringing back to camp. The same thought I had had before strayed back into my mind. Why not run away? It's not like Coughstar would care. _But everyone else would,_ I reminded myself, and forced my way back to camp. Once there, I dropped the fresh kill into the pile and went to the apprentice's den. I trotted over to my nest and curled up. I was about to shut my eyes when I heard the familiar voice of the newest apprentice, Redpaw, mewing in my ear.

"Aren't you a little old to be an apprentice?" I gritted my teeth as I turned to face him. This little youngster obviously hadn't learned the true hardships of life. He probably idolized Coughstar, as a _normal_ cat would. I stared hard into his amber eyes. I could tell that Redpaw was trying desperately not to flinch, but ended up doing so anyway. The young tom shied away and walked out of the den to get a piece of fresh kill. I growled. I hated it when my own concerns where voiced out loud. I buried my face in my paws, trying to calm myself. I thought about how Redpaw didn't mean it offensively, and how everyone except Coughstar liked me. But it wasn't that. It wasn't Redpaw, or the rest of the clan. It was me.

**Coughstar **

I lay soundlessly in my den. My head was swirling and my sense of right and wrong had finally faded away. I had feared this moment, when my mind finally gave up and allowed itself to cave in. I tried desperately to control the urge to go out and kill every little weakling, by telling myself that they were just young. Yes, that was it. They are young and inexperienced, like I once was. Like _everyone_ once was. But they were weaker. I felt rage building inside of me. I jumped up and padded out of my den. I looked around for my brother, Mossfang. I found the dark tabby sitting next to Skyclaw, sharing tongues. I strode over to him and plopped myself right in between the two toms. They both looked at me with respect, yes, deep respect. But they were lying.

"Mossfang, in my den, _now_. Skyclaw, I don't ever want to see you plotting against me again or I will personally tear your heart out! Do you understand me?" It was like it wasn't even me talking. I was just letting someone... _something_ control me. I turned my back on Skyclaw and trotted to my den, Mossfang on my heels.

Once there, I rounded on Mossfang.

"How dare you!" I hissed. "I am your leader! You dare try to hide from me? You think you can outwit me? I have shared tongues with StarClan, Mossfang, and if you are trying to kill me, you'd have to do it 7 times!" I glared into the dark tabby's scared eyes, and let out a sigh. "I lost it Mossfang." I said sadly, turning away from him and padding over to my nest.

"Lost what?" Mossfang asked cautiously.

"My sanity," I answered, my voice hollow. "Don't tell the clan. They must not know of the weakness. Try to cover it up, because it will just get worse. I… regret to inform you that the cat you once knew, a noble, just leader, is gone."

**Coldbreath**

We trotted through the forest, every sense alert, every ear pricked, as we listened for danger. I was on the evening patrol with my best and most understanding cats. I knew they knew why I had chosen them. I had something to tell them.

As we came up on fur trees, I gestured with my tail for them to sit. Then I finally got a good look at my fellow clan mates. There was Rainpaw, a black tom with blue silver around his face and amber eyes, who almost old enough to be a warrior, Sparrowtail, a gentle calico she-cat with blue eyes, and Silverwisker, a large grey tom with yellow eyes. I turned to them now not as the deputy, but as a fellow clan mate.

"Everyone, we have a problem," I started.

"What kind of a problem?" Rainpaw asked.

"It's Coughstar. He's being unnecessarily violent with his apprentice, Wildpaw. We have to do something! Everyone in the clan knows that Wildpaw is way to old to be an apprentice! If we keep this up, the other clans will notice at the gatherings, too!" I didn't realize how stressed I was until I let all of that information loose. Sparrowtail looked at me with concerned eyes, Silverwhisker was deep in thought, and Rainpaw rose to speak.

"Two things, Coldbreath," Rainpaw said. "Coughstar doesn't even consider bringing Wildpaw to the gatherings, and haven't you thought of telling Coughstar your concerns? If he doesn't know what's wrong, how's he supposed to fix it?"

"Rainpaw is right," Silverwhisker looked up at me. "Try telling Coughstar about Wildpaw's warrior ceremony. If he disagrees, then you can come and tell us. I don't see any reason to go overboard." Sparrowtail nodded, and Rainpaw looked proud for having such a great suggestion.

I sighed. "Oh alright. If you guys seem to think that's what's right, then I'll do it." Silverwhisker nodded in approval, and with that settled, we continued on with our patrol.

That ending sucked .-. I need to get better at those. Probably not gonna update this for a while, but we'll see. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!


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